I don’t pay no attention to what critics say about me, the good or the bad. The toughest critic I got is myself…and I’m too vain to play anything I think is bad.
MILES DAVISIf you have to ask, you’ll never know.
More Miles Davis Quotes
-
-
Music is an addiction.
MILES DAVIS -
You can tell whether a person plays well or not by the way he carries the instrument, whether it means something to him or not.
MILES DAVIS -
For me, music and life are all about style.
MILES DAVIS -
Always look ahead, but never look back.
MILES DAVIS -
I’ve always told the musicians in my band to play what they know and then play above that. Because then anything can happen, and that’s where great art and music happens.
MILES DAVIS -
You can’t play anything on a horn that Louis Armstrong hasn’t played.
MILES DAVIS -
You can’t compete with Sweets’ sound and time feel. It’s impossible.
MILES DAVIS -
In music, silence is more important than sound.
MILES DAVIS -
Do not be afraid of errors. There are no errors.
MILES DAVIS -
You should never be comfortable, man. Being comfortable fouled up a lot of musicians.
MILES DAVIS -
I usually write from the rhythm section…If a drummer got a funky beat on some things – like a half-shuffle or a shuffle or a backbeat that’s even – I can write something.
MILES DAVIS -
Jazz musicians are so comfortable. The reason they can’t do what we do is because they’re so comfortable doin’ what they do.
MILES DAVIS -
Keith, how does it feel to be a genius?
MILES DAVIS -
Certain drummers drop time, and I like to play on top of the beat.
MILES DAVIS -
If you don’t know what to play, play nothing.
MILES DAVIS -
If you’re going to drop behind, you have to keep it there.
MILES DAVIS -
When the band plays fast, you play slow; when the band plays slow, you play fast.
MILES DAVIS -
To keep creating you have to be about change.
MILES DAVIS -
We don’t play to be seen. I’m addicted to music, not audiences.
MILES DAVIS -
The only reason to write a new song is because you’re tired of the old ones.
MILES DAVIS -
I’m out there doing the best that I can, My lip is cut and I’m still playing.
MILES DAVIS -
If you sacrifice your art because of some woman, or some man, or for some color, or for some wealth, you can’t be trusted.
MILES DAVIS -
We’re not going to play the blues anymore. Let the white folks play the blues. They got ’em, so they can keep ’em.
MILES DAVIS -
I think the greatest sound in the world is the human voice.
MILES DAVIS -
Food makes my mind sluggish.
MILES DAVIS -
The thing to judge in any jazz artist is, does the man project and does he have ideas.
MILES DAVIS